A Judge's Power Can Be Used for Good or Bad

A column in the Mountain Press compares the actions of former judge Richard Baumgartner and Sevier County Circuit Judge Rex Henry Ogle. Baumgartner's poor choices are well-known and editor Stan Voit calls them disgraceful. But he also writes about a recent action by Ogle that honored the judiciary when he took a course in a case that was the right thing, but likely not the politically popular choice. "Each shows both the power of a judge and the abuse of power that can result from a bad judge, and how critically important it is to have honest and conscientious people sitting on the bench," Voit writes. "Sometimes doing what is right takes courage."